ALL ABOUT PORTOCORK–THE WORLD'S FINEST CORK
Portocork America is the premier supplier of natural cork closures to the North American wine industry. For nearly a quarter-of-a-century, our company has produced a wide range of natural cork closures, ranging from high-end still and sparkling wine cork to Twin Top® and Neutrocork® products designed for value wines.As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Amorim Group, the world's largest and most recognized name in cork production, Portocork is proud to be the first in our industry to screen every single United States-bound cork bale for 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Since 2001, we have experienced an 80% reduction in TCA scores through the use of this technology.
Portocork America was established in 1983 through a partnership between Portocork International and Fleming Packaging Group of Napa. The partnership continued until 1996 when Portocork International acquired 100% of Portocork America.
Portocork was a founding member of the Cork Quality Council (CQC) which was established in 1993 with the goal of continuing to increase quality standards and awareness of the benefits of natural cork. Portocork co-sponsored TCA research that was conducted jointly by the CQC and ETS Laboratories to establish a non-subjective cork testing methodology using GC/MS. Portocork continues as an active CQC member today.
Portocork International, located in Santa Maria de lamas, Portugal, is the world's most technologically-advanced producer of cork. Portocork has developed ultra-modern production facilities to process natural cork which is sourced only from company owned and leased natural forests that have existed in Portugal for decades. We control the cork from the time it is harvested until it arrives at your winery. This complementary combination of centuries-old natural practices and state-of-the-art production facilities, along with rigorous testing both in our ISO-9002 certified Portuguese facilities (with in-house GC/MS) and our California facility located in the Napa Valley, assures that our cork is the highest quality and most consistent cork year after year. Portocork America provides the world's finest cork.
THE ROSA SYSTEM
ROSA is the latest innovative development by Amorim used to tackle TCA. This system is a proprietary cork-cleaning process which has been developed as a result of more than three years of intensive research and development. Independent validation of the process has confirmed that ROSA reduces releasable TCA levels in cork by as much as 82%.How ROSA works: ROSA is a cork-cleaning process based on controlled steam distillation where steam and pressurized water are used to force out volatile trace compounds within corkwood cells.
Steam has been effective in removing volatile compounds such as 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) from cork in laboratory settings for years. However, transferring the process to an industrial scale has previously eluded cork manufacturers.
Amorim's researchers and engineers then scaled up laboratory trials of ROSA to an industrial level and therefore had to overcome many obstacles, including:
- Uneven reduction levels of TCA
- Adverse effect of the process on the physical properties and visual appearance of cork
- Recontamination of the cork due to steam condensation
Third-Party Validation of ROSA: To confirm the efficiency of ROSA, Amorim has invested significantly in independent validations of the new system. Amorim's own internal validation of the process has shown that ROSA is highly effective in reducing the concentration of releasable TCA in natural cork. The internal test also revealed that ROSA has little impact on the physical properties of the cork granules.
In addition to its own research, Amorim commissioned independent validations of ROSA by suitably-accredited laboratories—the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA) in the UK and the Geisenheim Research Institute in Germany.
These respected laboratories undertook chemical analytical tests on cork samples before and after treatment with ROSA to determine the average level of reduction in releasable TCA. In each case, half the samples were analyzed in Portugal using the Amorim laboratory facilities; the other half were analyzed in the researchers' own laboratories.
The test results from each laboratory were highly consistent and extremely encouraging. They indicate reductions as high as 82% in the average level of TCA in the cork material and provide strong evidence that ROSA is an effective industrial treatment for TCA-affected wine corks.
In addition to the research, Amorim's R&D Department is conducting medium- and long-term bottling trials using ROSA-treated corks to measure the incidence of TCA contamination in wines stored in typical cellaring conditions.
Amorim reports significant reductions in average TCA concentrations between wines sealed with ROSA-treated and untreated agglomerate corks, Twin Top® corks and natural corks.
Bottling trials continue, although it is apparent that the ROSA process significantly reduces the risk of TCA contamination.